“I would say [Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi] both improved from mid-season onwards, unfortunately Buemi had more technical issues. But still, we are not looking for a good F1 driver, we are looking for a top F1 driver.”

“Martin [Whitmarsh] has spoken to me about re-signing already. I know it is there. At some stage, when we have time, we will sit down and discuss it. Again, the most important thing is to focus on the season ahead.”

129 comments on Petrov’s future to be decided next month

We need to wait and see what the others are doing and wait and see where the cars will be in the first qualifying in Australia. But I am confident we will do a good job

I think this quote is the exact problem with Ferrari over the last couple of years. They have waited to see what other teams have done in a way and haven’t pushed for something dramatic for quite a while. Ferrari need to be the team that are pushing the new developments that everyone copies and not the other way round. I haven’t seen anything over the last couple of years that has been directly copied by the other teams.

We have had quite a few developments come through such as double diffusers, flexi wings, f-ducts, exhaust blown diffusers and Ferrari haven’t been the first to get any of those working if I remember correctly.

One promising thing next year for Ferrari is their pace at Silverstone where EBD’s were banned. I feel this showed that Ferrari actually have a good basis of their car and only need to develop upon that to get back to being the top team.

But still, we are not looking for a good F1 driver, we are looking for a top F1 driver

I think Helmut Marko is a little silly to compare Buemi(BUE) and Alguersuari (ALG) to Vettel (VET) which I assume he probably is as Vettel is a world class driver who drove well for Toro Rosso.

You have to look at what BUE and ALG were driving this year and compared to what was a pretty good Toro Rosso car in 2008 it is nowhere near that pace. Added to that is the fact we have 3 teams who are in a league of their own with two quick teams directly behind so it is completely different to 2008.

I think BUE and ALG have yet to show their full potential in what isn’t a great car. They have both had some good drivers this year and half way through the season Toro Rosso decided to go full out with top speed which I feel lent a lot to their better results.

You aren’t going to find your next Vettel so quickly after the first so he will be feeling like this for a long time I suspect.

True that Formula 1 has its roots and it’s spiritual home is Europe. But can Europe afford Formula 1? Firstly F1 needs not just modern tracks, but also safe tracks, which is exactly the reason why some major classic circuits will never make the cut. Second, if most of the F1 races are to be held in Europe it would no longer be viewed as a world sport event but more of a euro event but with few fly away races. In order to appeal to the global community the race locations have to be diverse and have to appeal to the local audience. Which is highly unlikely if it is all going to be held in the backyard of Europe. Lastly, the reason some of the races disappeared was due to losses for the organizers. In which case, how will F1 provide profit for the circruit owners if they are to just reinstate the races. It’s to say something than actually make it happen. That should explain why Korea and India with no F1 roots holding grand prixs successfully, whereas a first world country like America is still uncertain about 2012 Texas. If circuit organizers are unable to make a profit while holding races in Europe it’s not Bernie’s fault. It is the organizer’s responsibility to the viability of such a program and also promote it. Sure, the viewership is going to take a toll if races move out of Europe, but F1 will not take the loss by itself when there are others willing to pay rather than burden CVC.

I’d be surprised if any F1 circuit makes a profit in the traditional sense.

If the newer circuits in Asia were being run as private entities trying to make a profit, none would survive more than a few years. The local ticket prices are meagre in comparison to running and building costs (Japan not included), and that’s not including the hosting fees for most of these circuits is in the 50 million dollar range, and that is usually paid by government. By contrast, Monaco pays nothing and Spa/Monza/Silverstone are I think under 10 million, and in most of those cases the government does not pay the hosting fee.

As for sporting events being held in Europe mainly by Europeans being of no relevance to others around the world, I need only point to the English Premier League and the Champions League.

I feel sorry for Grosjean and Senna â€“ they may not have Kimiâ€™s talent, but they have not had a chance to shine.

We’ll never know. They’ve had barely any testing yet been impressive and now a hasbeen who has been out of the sport and shown no commitment the first time around has taken the seat of a driver who could have been a big character for the future of the sport.

It seems Renault’s decision making is being based around the recovery of Robert Kubica. Obviously, the team would love to have Robert alongside Raikkonen in the sister car. With all the focus now on Petrov, and Senna losing his ride, it appears Petrov will be only a ‘stand in’ driver until Kubica comes back. Ofcourse, no one knows for sure when Robert will race again.
Whether that is in 2012 or 2013, that is still not a nice position for Vitaly Petrov to be in knowing that his job is gone as soon as Kubica returns. But that is Formula One!
The chances are that Petrov could find a place elsewhere. If rumours are to be believed, Bernie Ecclestone is still keen on having a Russian grands prix in the next few years. Having a Russian still on the grid could come in handy, but that will only happen ofcourse if there are places available. I can’t wait to see Raikkonen and Kubica in the same team together!

the regie should get shot of petrov and while the,re at it, bouiller should fall on his sword and take himself off as well

talking of dorks, see marko was giving his opinions on the offical F1 site, sorry I should say the official f1 pr clap trap site, couldnt tell you what he said as I could not be a…. reading what that guy has to say

If you see the presentation video from Kimi you can see that in the jacket there are none of Bruno’s sponsors but still Petrov’s Lada.
It may be just a “conspiracy theory ” but oh well.
So that leaves Williams. Bruno Senna / Rubens / Adrian Sutil. Senna can attract more sponsors, and probably has that “promise” factor. Sutil is a top 10 f1 driver. If the decision comes between Bruno and Rubens i’m afraid imho that Rubens has made his last race in F1 last sunday which is sad considering a person who dedicated 20 years of his life to a sport.